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Karikala (Tamil: Karikāla Chōḻaṉ), often referred to as Karikala the Great, was a Tamil Emperor of the Early Cholas of the Chola dynasty who ruled ancient Tamilakam (Modern day Tamil Nadu in Southern India) from Uraiyur. He is credited with the construction of the flood banks of the river Kaveri and conquest of Tamilakam, Andhra and Sri Lanka. He is recognised as the greatest of the Early Cholas. In Thiruvalangadu plates of Rajendra Chola I, Medieval Tamil Cholas listed Karikala Chola as one of their ancestors.
| Karikala | |
|---|---|
| Peruvaḷatthaān Thirumāvaḷavan Parakesari (Sanskrit)[1][2] | |
 Bronze statue of Karikāla Chōḻaṉ | |
| Predecessor | Ilamcetcenni |
| Successor | Nedunkilli and Nalankilli |
| Queen | Velir princess from Nangur[3] |
| Issue | Nalankilli Nedunkilli Māvalattān |
| Father | Ilamcetcenni |
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The story of Karikala is mixed with legend and anecdotal information gleaned from Sangam literature. The period covered by the extant literature of the Sangam is not easy to determine with any measure of certainty.
Paṭṭiṉappālai, Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai and a number of individual poems in the Akanaṉūṟu and Purananuru have been the main source for the information that is attributed to Karikala.
There are many inscriptions and records found both in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh which mentions Karikala and his conquests and the construction of flood banks along the Kaveri river. Many rulers and petty chiefs who came after him claimed him as their ancestor and decorated themselves as belonging to the Chola clan of Karikala and of the Kashyapa gotra.[4][5] The following lines are taken from the Malepadu plates of Renadu Chola king Punyakumara,
"Dinakara-kula-mandar-achala-mandara-padapassya
Kavera-tanaya-velollamghanaprasamana-pramukn-adyanak-atisaya-karinah
Trairajya-sthitim-atmasat-kritavatah-karikala"
The above lines are translated as: "In the clan of Karikala, who was the Mandara tree on the Mandara mountain, viz., the solar clan; who was the worker of many wonders like controlling the daughter of Kaveri" [6]
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Karikala was the son of Ilamcetcenni.[7] The name Karikalan has been held to mean "the man with the charred leg" and perpetuates the memory of a fire accident in the early years of his life. Some scholars also hold the view kari and kalan are Tamil words meaning "slayer of elephants". Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai describes the back-formed origin legend of this incident as follows:
The king of Uraiyur (Tiruchirappalli) Ilamcetcenni married a Velir princess from Azhundur and she became pregnant and gave birth to Karikala. Ilamcetcenni died soon after. Due to his young age, Karikala's right to the throne was overlooked and there was political turmoil in the country. Karikala was exiled. When normality returned, the Chola ministers sent a state elephant to look for the prince. The elephant finds the prince hiding in Karuvur (modern day Karur in Tamil Nadu). His political opponents arrested and imprisoned him. The prison was set on fire that night. Karikala escaped the fire and, with the help of his uncle Irum-pitar-thalaiyan, defeated his enemies. Karikala's leg was scorched in the fire and from thence Karikala became his name.
Old Sangam Age inscriptions and also sthala puranam of great ancient Saiva shrine at Parasalur, near Mayavaram says that in order to escape the murder plot hatched by conspirators Karikal Valavan stayed there in disguise of a vedic and agama sastra lecturer for eight years.
Paṭṭiṉappālai, written in praise of Karikala also describes this incident, but without mention of the fable of the burnt limb:
Once, in a dense forest, a young tiger cub was captured by hunters and locked in a wooden cage. Inside, it grew quietly, its claws sharpening as its body filled with strength and purpose. Though confined, it watched the world outside and learned its captors' routines.
One day, a mighty elephant nearby struggled within a deep pit. Using its massive trunk, the elephant pushed against the edges of the trap, bringing the banks down and freeing itself. The tiger watched closely, inspired by the creature's determination and method.
Determined to break free as well, the tiger bided its time. It studied the weakness in the cage's structure and waited for the guards to grow complacent. Then, with a swift slash of its powerful claws, it tore through the wooden bars, catching the guards off guard. Overpowering them with its newfound strength and skill, it leapt into the jungle and reclaimed its freedom, thriving in its rightful domain.
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Battle of Venni
According to the Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai, Karikala Chola fought a great Battle of Venni in which both Pandyan and Cheran king Uthiyan Cheralathan[8] suffered a defeat.[9] Although we know very little about the circumstances leading to this battle, there can be no doubt that it marked the turning point in Karikala's career, for in this battle he broke the back of the powerful confederacy formed against him.[10] Besides the two crowned kings of the Pandya and Chera countries, eleven minor chieftains took the opposing side in the campaign and shared defeat at the hands of Karikala.[11][12] The Chera king, who was wounded on his back in the battle, committed suicide by starvation. Venni was the watershed in the career of Karikala which established him firmly on his throne and secured for him some sort of hegemony among the three crowned monarchs. Venni is also known as Vennipparandalai and now it is known as Kovilvenni and is situated near Needamangalam, 25 km away from Thanjavur.
Further Wars and Conquest of Ceylon
After the battle of Venni, Karikala had other opportunities to exercise his arms. He defeated the confederacy of nine minor chieftains in the battle of Vakaipparandalai. Paranar, a contemporary of Karikala, in his poem from Agananuru mentions this incident without giving any information on the cause of the conflict.[13] According to legends Karikala was one of the few Chola kings who won the whole of Ceylon (Lanka). The Grand anicut was built after his conquest over the Sinhalese kingdom and he used Sinhalese war prisoners for the hard task of moving stones from the mountains to the river bed of the Kaveri. The Pattinappalai also describes the destruction caused by Karikala's armies in the territories of his enemies and adds that as the result of these conflicts, the "Northerners and Westerners were depressed… and his flushed look of anger caused the Pandya’s strength to give way…".
Conquest of Tondainadu and Andhra from Pallavas
Based on numerous village records and Telugu Chola inscriptions found in Andhra, Karikala seems to have battled against a Pallava king named Trilochana Pallava or Mukhanti Pallava or Mukhanti Kaduvetti and captured Tondainadu, leaving the southern Telugu country to the Pallava king. The Pallava king who had Kanchi as his capital moved the capital to Kalahasti after losing Kanchi in the battle. The inscriptions also says that Karikala ordered Trilochana Pallava to come and assist him in building the flood banks along the Kaveri river. But the Pallava king who was ruling from Kalahasti declined to obey which made Karikala to declare war against him. Karikala won the battle and captured the Telugu country. During that time period, southern Andhra was covered with big forests which is not fit for cultivation. So, Karikala destroyed the forests and planted many villages. One of the villages is Pottapi, which was the most important village and hence the whole locality acquired in course of time the name Pottapi Nadu. Unlike Trilochana Pallava, Karikala Chola donated lands not only to Brahmins but also to the cultivators.[14]
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Sometime between the reign of Sinhalese monarch Vankanasika Tissa, Karikala, with a large army, invaded the island and took away 12,000 Sinhalese men to work as slaves to build the Kaveri Dam.[15]
Later Chola kings attributed the building of dikes along the banks of the Kaveri to Karikala.[9][11][16][17] The raising of the banks of the river Kaveri by Karikala is also mentioned by the Malepadu plates (seventh century CE)[18] of the Telugu Chola sovereign of Renadu, Erigal-Mutturaju Punyakumara, who claims descent from Karikala: karuna – saroruha vihita – vilochana – pallava – trilochana pramukha kilapritvisvara karita kaveri tira (he who caused the banks of the Kaveri to be constructed by all the subordinate kings led by the Pallava Trilochana whose third eye was blinded by his lotus foot).
The Grand Anicut, also known as the Kallanai was built by Karikala[19] and is considered one of the oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world which is still in use.[20] The Kallanai is a massive dam of unhewn stone, 329 metres (1,080 ft) long and 20 metres (60 ft) wide, across the main stream of the Kaveri.[21] A later Chola record from Tiruvaduturai refers to this event that is raising the banks of the Kaveri by Parakesari Karikala Chola.[22][2]
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After his victory over the Northern kingdoms of Vatsa, Magadha and Avantika, Karikala returned to Tamil land and worshipped Lord Shiva at the Perur Pateeswarar Temple located at the banks of river Noyyal in present-day Coimbatore. Karikala was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He is said to have done the Kumbhabhishekham (sanctification ritual) of the temple through hundred golden vessels. A famous text named Perur Puranam was composed by Kachiyappa Munivar in Tamil on the origin of the temple.[23]
Karikala Cholan Manimandapam
Karikala Cholan Manimandapam (memorial hall) was built in honour of the king who built the Grand Anicut. The hall designed as per Chola architecture style was built at a cost of ₹ 21 million. It features a bronze statue of the king.[24][25]
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According to Nilakanta Sastri Karikala reigned in 190 CE.[26]
However, V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar states that the Karikala mentioned in Silappadikaram and the Karikala in Sangam literature are two different kings and the Karikala mentioned in Silappadikaram has nothing to do with Trilocana Pallava and nothing prevents another Karikala having flourished in Puhar a few centuries later.[27]
The copper-plate charters and stone inscription of the 10th and 11th centuries also mention two different Karikala thus unable to determine his exact reign.
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Based on the literature, epigraphic evidence, and copper plate inscriptions, below are the various dynasties who claimed descent from Karikala Chola, and few used the title Lord of Uraiyur, which was the capital of Early Cholas.
- Imperial Cholas, ruled south India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia during 848–1279 CE.[28]
- Kakatiya dynasty, ruled Andhra and Telangana during 1163–1323 CE.[29][30]
- Nidugal Cholas, ruled parts of Karnataka, ruled during 12th to 14th century.[31]
- Renati Chodas, ruled Rayalaseema, ruled from 5th century CE to 8th century CE.[32]
- Pottapi Chodas, ruled Rayalaseema, ruled from 8th to 9th century CE.
- Konidena Chodas, ruled Kammanadu, from 950 to 1300 A.D.
- Nannuru Chodas ruled the region of Pakanadu.
- Nellore Chodas ruled south Andhra from 1100 to 1350 A.D.
- Kunduru Chodas, ruled Telangana region during 1080–1260 A.D.
- Eruva Cholas ruled Rajahmundry region during 1120–1330 A.D.[33]
Kapu (caste) in Andhra is said to have originated from Telugu Cholas who themselves claim descent from Karikala. Karikala Bhaktulu caste in Andhra also known as Sengunthar consider Karikala Chola as their hero.[citation needed]
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